The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (originally titled Notre-Dame de Paris), published in 1831, is a monumental Gothic novel by Victor Hugo. While often remembered as a tragic romance, Hugo’s primary goal was to save the titular cathedral from neglect and modernization by celebrating it as the heart of French culture.The Epic Structure (Volumes I & II)The novel is traditionally divided into eleven "books," often collected in two volumes.Volume I introduces the 1482 setting, the Festival of Fools, and the central trio: the deformed bell-ringer Quasimodo, the beautiful Romani dancer Esmeralda, and the tormented Archdeacon Claude Frollo.Volume II dives into the darker themes of obsession and fate (Anarkia), culminating in the dramatic siege of the cathedral and the tragic deaths of the protagonists.